Democrats’ blue wave and a bad night for Trump: key US midterms takeaways

Republicans suffer historic losses, Democrats win control of Congress – and Trump backs away from losing candidates

Full report: Democrats win control of Congress in ‘blue wave’

Democrats have swept key US midterm races, flipping long-held Republican seats and securing a majority in Congress as voters rebuked Donald Trump’s policies at the ballot box.

In an unexpected performance, Democrats defeated incumbent Republicans candidates for historically conservative Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.

Polls indicated Democrats were leading in competitive races but failed to fully predict the extent of the party’s massive wins. Voters have expressed disapproval of Trump’s performance as president, especially related to the cost of living.

Despite telling voters to act as though he was still on the ballot, Trump has dismissed concerns the results are a response to his presidency, saying he would have “won in a landslide” had he been on the ballot.

Democrats saw their hoped-for “blue wave” become reality by flipping seven Senate seats, more than two dozen House seats and expanding the number of Democratic governors.

Shortly after polls closed, Democrats saw winning streaks in closely watched Senate races. Before midnight, the Associated Press had declared Democrats would hold the majority in Congress’s upper chamber. Less than two hours later, they secured the House.

With control over both chambers, Democrats gain the authority to push back on Trump’s agenda.

Tuesday evening’s results were sweeping, with states and districts that voted for Trump two years ago abandoning the president’s allies in the midterms. Even Republican incumbents running in comfortably red areas, such as Florida, were locked in close races with Democrats.

In one of the most closely watched races of the night, the Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan in the face of a largely Islamophobic campaign against him.

The Democrats’ win was underscored by Republicans’ historic losses across the country. For the first time in 94 years, a Democrat won a Senate seat in Kansas, with Adam Hamilton defeating Roger Marshall.

Republicans lost a South Carolina Senate seat for the first time in nearly 30 years when Dr. Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham – the sister of the late senator Lindsey Graham and a close ally of Trump.

James Talarico, a progressive Democratic newcomer, defeated Ken Paxton, the state’s conservative attorney general, in Texas’s Senate race, ending Republicans’ 38-year streak.

Iowa and North Carolina also had not elected a Democratic senator since 2008.

After suffering major losses, Trump asserted he “wasn’t on the Ballot” but “would have won IN A LANDSLIDE” if he was – a reversal from his request that voters act as though he was.

For weeks, Trump had encouraged supporters to vote as though he was a candidate on the ballot, in the hopes of generating support for Republicans. But on Tuesday night, he dismissed concerns that the midterm results were a reflection of that.